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South African visual artist Kate Schärf

Kate Schärf

South Africa | 2 artworks for sale

  • Fleeting - Painting by Kate Schärf Fleeting
    Painting / 120 x 99 cm
  • Opus - Painting by Kate Schärf Opus
    Painting / 100 x 100 cm
    R34 000
Known for her organic, plant-inspired paintings and drawings, Kate Schärf is influenced by her love of nature and peaceful surroundings. Her art reflects her fascination with botanical art while also functioning as an expression of the uplifting, calming, and reassuring qualities inherent within nature. Kate attributes much of her inspiration from her visit to New Zealand in 2013, where she developed a deep appreciation of its natural habitat and trails. Kate’s art seeks to bring contentment and tranquillity to the viewer. By utilising soothing colours and constructing harmonious, balanced compositions, she aims to create artworks that invite the viewer inward into a mindset of quiet contemplation.

More recently, her work explores the theme of the forest: a space, both real and imagined, that forms the backdrop of many stories in literary fiction. Kate is concerned with the play of mark-making, colour, illusion, depth, and the perception that this creates in the eye of the viewer.

Kate Schärf  (b. 1993, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) is a Cape Town-based visual artist. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the University of Stellenbosch (SU) in 2018. She attained a Master’s degree in Visual Art from the same institution in 2021. During her time as a student, she worked as an intern for SMAC Gallery and then as a teaching assistant in the printmaking department at SU.

Selected Exhibitions

2025
Common Ground – SideTrack Studios, RK Contemporary
Affairs Of The Art - StateoftheART, Cape Town

2024
Green, Noordhoek Art Point
Art Enriches Space, Music Enriches Time, 196 Victoria
A SideTrack Studios Exhibition, Mullers Gallery
In the Wake, Hugo Modern Art

2023
One Gallery; Diverse Visions, Mullers Gallery
Blooming Marvellous, Noordhoek Art Point
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Cavalli Gallery
Shape & Form, Mullers Gallery
Natalensis, Mullers Gallery
Entangled, (participant & guest curator), RK Contemporary

2022
LUSH, RK Contemporary
Sakpas, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
When Wild Woods Whisper, Rust-en-Vrede Gallery
Achromatica, RK Contemporary

2021
Foliagescapes (Masters Exhibition), GUS Gallery, Stellenbosch

2019/2020
Summertide, RK Contemporary (Riebeek Kasteel)

2019
Murmurs of Earth, Art on Avenues
Secret Garden, Art on Avenues

2018
GradEx ‘18 – Graduate Exhibition, Stellenbosch University.

AWARDS
Deans Merit list, 2018

 

Which artists, books or music have inspired your work?
Tolkien, both for his art and his imagination. As for music, some classical pieces by Vivaldi and Tchaikovsky.

Which South African deceased artist do you most admire and why?
Pierneef, because of his distinctive, iconic style. I also admire Errol Boyley, because I grew up in the house he once lived in; I feel this may have inspired me in some way.

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
Something by Deborah Poynton.

Pick three artists who you would be honored to exhibit with – and why
Lucy Jane Turpin (my former lecturer), Michael Beckhurts and Gabrielle Kruger. I have not exhibited with them before and I have huge admiration for them all.

How did you get started? Did you always want to be an artist?
I have always been painting and drawing. Initially I wanted to be an airplane pilot or a vet, but becoming an artist felt like a natural choice.

What are some of the key themes you explore in your work?
Unspoiled, idyllic nature – or the idea of it. Peace and stillness within chaos.

What should people know about your art that they can’t tell from looking at it?
I don’t always paint real places; sometimes I make them up, or change things to make it different or interesting.

What are the most essential items in your studio and why?
Gamsol (mineral spirits), because its odourless, and my headphones to help me focus.

Tell us more about your creative process.
I am always looking for inspiration and thinking about my next painting. I often like to start with a fresh canvas, paint it black, and then work from dark to light. This method can be far less intimidating than working from a white substrate, and I really enjoy seeing forms emerge from the darkness.

Do you believe an artist should use their platform to influence society? Why?
I think it is a personal preference. I feel that an artist should make a positive impact on society through their art.

Do you have a favourite or most meaningful work?
One that I sold years ago, called ‘Abandoned,’ referring to my vegetable garden.

What is your greatest achievement as an artist to date?
Joining SideTrack Studios and becoming part of the supportive artist community there.

What are your aspirations for the future?
A solo show and international residencies.